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Robert Park

Voodoo Science

Science plays a huge role in our lives today. Unfortunately this can lead to things being dressed up as science which don't deserve the name. This can happen in several different ways, but Robert Park has introduced the term Voodoo Science to cover all such occurences. In this book he looks at devices which their inventors claim can provide free energy (including cold fusion), at the success of alternative medicine, and at why claims such as the link between EMF and cancer don't go away despite a lack of supporting evidence. He also discusses why people have a tendency to believe in such claims.

Park's grouping together of such a wide range of topics into the book does lead to the problem that some of those included are things which Park thinks to be unnecessary and expensive use of resources, such as manned space travel, rather than being bad science as such. I couldn't help feeling that the book would be better if Park had concentrated on what he is good at, which is going into the details of pseudoscientific claims. In particular he shows how even after something has clearly been shown to be nonsense, it have a tendency to pop up again in the media within a few years as revolutionary and new.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 240 pages
ISBN: 0195147103
Salesrank: 39402
Weight:0.4 lbs

Published: 2001 Oxford University Press, USA

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 240 pages
ISBN: 0198604432
Salesrank: 448903
Weight:0.55 lbs

Published: 2002 OUP Oxford

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 240 pages
ISBN: 0195147103
Salesrank: 49611
Weight:0.4 lbs

Published: 2001 Oxford University Press

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Product Description
In a time of dazzling scientific progress, how can we separate genuine breakthroughs from the noisy gaggle of false claims? From Deepak Chopra's "quantum alternative to growing old" to unwarranted hype surrounding the International Space Station, Robert Park leads us down the back alleys of fringe science, through the gleaming corridors of Washington power and even into our evolutionary past to search out the origins of voodoo science. Along the way, he offers simple and engaging science lessons, proving that you don't have to be a scientist to spot the fraudulent science that swirls around us. While remaining highly humorous, this hard-hitting account also tallies the cost: the billions spent on worthless therapies, the tax dollars squandered on government projects that are doomed to fail, the investors bilked by schemes that violate the most fundamental laws of nature. But the greatest cost is human: fear of imaginary dangers, reliance on magical cures, and above all, a mistaken view of how the world works. To expose the forces that sustain voodoo science, Park examines the role of the media, the courts, bureaucrats and politicians, as well as the scientific community. Scientists argue that the cure is to raise general scientific literacy. But what exactly should a scientifically literate society know? Park argues that the public does not need a specific knowledge of science so much as a scientific world view--an understanding that we live in an orderly universe governed by natural laws that cannot be circumvented.

Product Description

In a time of dazzling scientific progress, how can we separate genuine breakthroughs from the noisy gaggle of false claims? From Deepak Chopra's "quantum alternative to growing old" to unwarranted hype surrounding the International Space Station, Robert Park leads us down the back alleys of fringe science, through the gleaming corridors of Washington power and even into our evolutionary past to search out the origins of voodoo science. Along the way, he offers simple and engaging science lessons, proving that you don't have to be a scientist to spot the fraudulent science that swirls around us.
While remaining highly humorous, this hard-hitting account also tallies the cost: the billions spent on worthless therapies, the tax dollars squandered on government projects that are doomed to fail, the investors bilked by schemes that violate the most fundamental laws of nature. But the greatest cost is human: fear of imaginary dangers, reliance on magical cures, and above all, a mistaken view of how the world works.
To expose the forces that sustain voodoo science, Park examines the role of the media, the courts, bureaucrats and politicians, as well as the scientific community. Scientists argue that the cure is to raise general scientific literacy. But what exactly should a scientifically literate society know? Park argues that the public does not need a specific knowledge of science so much as a scientific world view--an understanding that we live in an orderly universe governed by natural laws that cannot be circumvented.

I aint blinking either, Mr. Newman *****
"Voodoo Science" is an excellent, fast-paced, easy-to-read and even entertaining book about pseudoscience. The book was so easy to read, that I finished it in a day! Frankly, it's one of the best books I've read. At the time of writing it, the author was the Washington DC representative of an important scientific organization, the American Physics Association. Sometimes, he sounds like a Washington insider, as when he casually mentions a classified meeting with president Bush Senior about the Strategic Defense Initiative, or equally casually retells anecdotes about various science advisors in the White House. Who knows, maybe Mr. Parks is a Beltway insider? At the very least, he has personal experience of many, perhaps all, of the cases he mentions in the book. Did I say that "Voodoo Science" was entertaining? I guess I should have said: Entertaining, up to a point. Actually, the book is deeply disturbing. It seems pseudoscience is given credibility on major US news networks, in large-circulation newspapers, and even in military circles, usually behind a "top secret" smokescreen. And please note that the book doesn't cover creationism, Intelligent Design and Reagan's court astrologer. Thus, the real situation is even worse! The most well-known scandal covered by Park actually involves two real scientists, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, the two chemists who claimed to have discovered "cold fusion". If true, humanity would have gotten access to almost unlimited amounts of free energy. It turned out that Pons and Fleischmann were wrong, and then attempted to cover their tracks. Park also mentions two amateurs who claim to have discovered free energy, James Patterson and Joe Newman. Both have been sympathetically covered by major news networks, and Newman even managed to promote his Energy Machine before a Senate committee in Washington DC. Unfortunately for him, his bluff was called by Senator John Glenn, the former astronaut. The book is worth reading simply for Park's description of the confrontation between Glenn and Newman. "I aint blinking either, Mr. Newman". Glenn sure wasn't. As for Patterson, he claims to have invented a free energy source by placing beads in a kitchen sink, and then lead an electric current right through it. This was touted by ABC? He also claims that the beads can neutralize radioactivity. I'm not a physicist, but even I can sense something wrong about that statement. I mean, there's a reason why radioactive waste is stored underground in very deep shafts, LOL. I learned it in elementary school. Park also covers the Roswell incident (he actually worked for the military in Roswell - is this guy for real?), alternative medicine, parapsychology, the Strategic Defense Initiative, the claim that power lines cause cancer in children, anti-gravity shields, and some kind of New Age aura therapy (the latter was exposed by a nine-year old girl working on a school science project!). There is also a chapter critical of the US space program. The chapter is interesting, and Park is probably right, but it feels out of place in a book about pseudoscience. Park is honest enough to admit that even scientists can pass from foolishness to fraud. Indeed, the book covers both backyard quacks and respected scientists who go terribly wrong. Park is especially angry at Teller, the legendary "Father of the H-bomb". He also points out that science cannot (yet) explain all things. Park's point, however, is that the cure for all this is more science and better science, not crazy speculations about free energy, quantum healing, and what not. Recommended. Once again: I read the entire book in just one day. Made me feel almost like Harriet Klausner! :-)

I aint blinking either, Mr. Newman *****

"Voodoo Science" is an excellent, fast-paced, easy-to-read and even entertaining book about pseudoscience. The book was so easy to read, that I finished it in a day! Frankly, it's one of the best books I've read. At the time of writing it, the author was the Washington DC representative of an important scientific organization, the American Physics Association. Sometimes, he sounds like a Washington insider, as when he casually mentions a classified meeting with president Bush Senior about the Strategic Defense Initiative, or equally casually retells anecdotes about various science advisors in the White House. Who knows, maybe Mr. Parks *is* a Beltway insider? At the very least, he has personal experience of many, perhaps all, of the cases he mentions in the book.

Did I say that "Voodoo Science" was entertaining? I guess I should have said: Entertaining, up to a point. Actually, the book is deeply disturbing. It seems pseudoscience is given credibility on major US news networks, in large-circulation newspapers, and even in military circles, usually behind a "top secret" smokescreen. And please note that the book *doesn't* cover creationism, Intelligent Design and Reagan's court astrologer. Thus, the real situation is even worse!

The most well-known scandal covered by Park actually involves two real scientists, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, the two chemists who claimed to have discovered "cold fusion". If true, humanity would have gotten access to almost unlimited amounts of free energy. It turned out that Pons and Fleischmann were wrong, and then attempted to cover their tracks. Park also mentions two amateurs who claim to have discovered free energy, James Patterson and Joe Newman. Both have been sympathetically covered by major news networks, and Newman even managed to promote his Energy Machine before a Senate committee in Washington DC. Unfortunately for him, his bluff was called by Senator John Glenn, the former astronaut. The book is worth reading simply for Park's description of the confrontation between Glenn and Newman. "I aint blinking either, Mr. Newman". Glenn sure wasn't.

As for Patterson, he claims to have invented a free energy source by placing beads in a kitchen sink, and then lead an electric current right through it. *This* was touted by ABC? He also claims that the beads can neutralize radioactivity. I'm not a physicist, but even I can sense *something* wrong about that statement. I mean, there's a reason why radioactive waste is stored underground in very deep shafts, LOL. I learned it in elementary school.

Park also covers the Roswell incident (he actually worked for the military in Roswell - is this guy for real?), alternative medicine, parapsychology, the Strategic Defense Initiative, the claim that power lines cause cancer in children, anti-gravity shields, and some kind of New Age aura therapy (the latter was exposed by a nine-year old girl working on a school science project!). There is also a chapter critical of the US space program. The chapter is interesting, and Park is probably right, but it feels out of place in a book about pseudoscience.

Park is honest enough to admit that even scientists can pass from foolishness to fraud. Indeed, the book covers both backyard quacks and respected scientists who go terribly wrong. Park is especially angry at Teller, the legendary "Father of the H-bomb". He also points out that science cannot (yet) explain all things. Park's point, however, is that the cure for all this is *more* science and *better* science, not crazy speculations about free energy, quantum healing, and what not.

Recommended. Once again: I read the entire book in just one day. Made me feel almost like Harriet Klausner! :-)

Not All That Glitters Is Not Gold **
Skepticism in science and business is a healthy attitude, to a certain extent. However, obviously, there are both healthy and unhealthy levels of skepticism. A book whose central purpose is to put forward and support the proposition that a scientific and practical viewpoint, is a skeptical one, is certainly going to appeal to people who are aggravated about the lack of skepticism in society, in regard to various topics, especially in regard to businesses formed only to criminally bilk investors out of their hard earned money. This is where the idiotic and the criminal merge; the areas where we find variously unsupported and often unsupportable devices and "technologies" for sale and seeking "qualified" large-scale investors. So, books promoting healthy skepticism are always of some value in society. My position is that in regard to new technologies, there is also a strong tendency in society for people to adopt a skeptical stance on all new technologies, unless or until those technologies are clearly and strongly supported by previous "established" scientific work, and have technological ancestors which stand as exemplars of how the new technology will operate, without any careful detailed investigation by the skeptic. This means that when we have new technology that is actually good and true, we will tend to ignore it, if this new technology represents a major breakthrough, discontinuous from previous technology, or not readily linkable to previous established technology and inventions in use in society generally. So skeptics will tend to embody the negative and sometimes very unhealthy tendency of people to resist positive change in science and technology. We see that all scientific breakthroughs encounter skepticism and sometimes bring forth intense persecution of the scientists or promoters, when in the testing and early discussion stages, either in scientific conferences or in the media. So any book which basically tells people that not all technological claims or invention claims are true and valid, and that not all business propositions have validity or basis in reality, primarily has only this value: to amplify and encourage higher and higher levels of skepticism in science and tech and business fields. This may be healthy in regard to many topics and claims, but clearly is not valid or helpful in all cases, especially when we can see that there is already a very high hurdle for new inventions and tech to overcome anyway; and some of these new inventions will be of great value, and these are only hurt by the intensification of the already very powerful forces of resistance to change and very well entrenched skepticism in the science, tech, and business fields. There is a need for us to understand how we can be justified in our skepticism, when we are already skeptical; and also there is a need for us to understand how we may be unjustified in our skepticism, and how and why such decisions are to be made in regard to each question we are faced with, especially in areas of great concern to the progress of human civilization. I do not feel that a book designed only to bolster and reinforce skepticism will be of any lasting value, unless the flip side is also fully examined. Examples abound in science and technological history of how well-entrenched skepticism was eventually overcome by the actual weight of evidence and proof; often such evidence and proof, even very well developed and supported, is very difficult to communicate effectively, in the face of massive institutionalized and sometimes co-opted skeptical forces. In fact, when an issue is of very great significance and when it may involve disruptive new technology, the business and investment arena is insanely difficult, because the new tech may face such hurdles as co-opted stock price manipulators working for well-established competitors who stand to lose everything if the new technology gains wide acceptance. Note that voracious greed in capitalistic societies tends to force investors to seek only those companies which have exponentially zooming profit margins; loss of a fraction of this momentum over a quarter will lead to a crash as investors scramble for the exit; and this profit momentum must be very carefully and aggressively supported by all manner of vicious stock price manipulation, and supported by all the marshalled forces of advanced capitalist society, it stands to reason. No examples will be given here; but I think those who scan through this review will be able to imagine situations similar to those I am considering.

Not All That Glitters Is Not Gold **

Skepticism in science and business is a healthy attitude, to a certain extent. However, obviously, there are both healthy and unhealthy levels of skepticism.

A book whose central purpose is to put forward and support the proposition that a scientific and practical viewpoint, is a skeptical one, is certainly going to appeal to people who are aggravated about the lack of skepticism in society, in regard to various topics, especially in regard to businesses formed only to criminally bilk investors out of their hard earned money. This is where the idiotic and the criminal merge; the areas where we find variously unsupported and often unsupportable devices and "technologies" for sale and seeking "qualified" large-scale investors.

So, books promoting healthy skepticism are always of some value in society. My position is that in regard to new technologies, there is also a strong tendency in society for people to adopt a skeptical stance on all new technologies, unless or until those technologies are clearly and strongly supported by previous "established" scientific work, and have technological ancestors which stand as exemplars of how the new technology will operate, without any careful detailed investigation by the skeptic.

This means that when we have new technology that is actually good and true, we will tend to ignore it, if this new technology represents a major breakthrough, discontinuous from previous technology, or not readily linkable to previous established technology and inventions in use in society generally. So skeptics will tend to embody the negative and sometimes very unhealthy tendency of people to resist positive change in science and technology.

We see that all scientific breakthroughs encounter skepticism and sometimes bring forth intense persecution of the scientists or promoters, when in the testing and early discussion stages, either in scientific conferences or in the media. So any book which basically tells people that not all technological claims or invention claims are true and valid, and that not all business propositions have validity or basis in reality, primarily has only this value: to amplify and encourage higher and higher levels of skepticism in science and tech and business fields. This may be healthy in regard to many topics and claims, but clearly is not valid or helpful in all cases, especially when we can see that there is already a very high hurdle for new inventions and tech to overcome anyway; and some of these new inventions will be of great value, and these are only hurt by the intensification of the already very powerful forces of resistance to change and very well entrenched skepticism in the science, tech, and business fields.

There is a need for us to understand how we can be justified in our skepticism, when we are already skeptical; and also there is a need for us to understand how we may be unjustified in our skepticism, and how and why such decisions are to be made in regard to each question we are faced with, especially in areas of great concern to the progress of human civilization. I do not feel that a book designed only to bolster and reinforce skepticism will be of any lasting value, unless the flip side is also fully examined.

Examples abound in science and technological history of how well-entrenched skepticism was eventually overcome by the actual weight of evidence and proof; often such evidence and proof, even very well developed and supported, is very difficult to communicate effectively, in the face of massive institutionalized and sometimes co-opted skeptical forces. In fact, when an issue is of very great significance and when it may involve disruptive new technology, the business and investment arena is insanely difficult, because the new tech may face such hurdles as co-opted stock price manipulators working for well-established competitors who stand to lose everything if the new technology gains wide acceptance.

Note that voracious greed in capitalistic societies tends to force investors to seek only those companies which have exponentially zooming profit margins; loss of a fraction of this momentum over a quarter will lead to a crash as investors scramble for the exit; and this profit momentum must be very carefully and aggressively supported by all manner of vicious stock price manipulation, and supported by all the marshalled forces of advanced capitalist society, it stands to reason. No examples will be given here; but I think those who scan through this review will be able to imagine situations similar to those I am considering.

A Crash Course in Pseudoscience *****
In this day and age, with the media hardly taking the time to distinguish between what is fact and what is fiction, the line between pseudoscience and science can be hard for any one individual to determine on his own. In Robert Park's book, Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud, the author takes a look at certain junk sciences, especially those that have gotten a great deal of media attention, and points out their proponents' errors in thinking in order to help try to sort out the truth from the lies, the science from the pseudoscience. Park is a Professor of Physics at University of Maryland, as well as former chairman of the Department of Physics. He is also the director of the Washington Office of the American Physical Society. In his preface, Park writes, "As I sought to make the case for science, however, I kept bumping up against scientific ideas and claims that are totally, indisputably, extravagantly, wrong, but which nevertheless attract a large following of passionate, and sometimes powerful, proponents" (Park, viii). Throughout his book, Park takes a skeptical look at certain voodoo sciences of the last half-century, as well as their origins. His main thesis is that there is a great distinction between what is entertainment and what is news, what is science and what is junk, and the American news media need to start doing a better job of making these distinctions for themselves and for their audiences. Park is extremely harsh on the American media and press, and rightly so, as he believes that they often promote pseudoscience by their coverage of certain stories. One such instance Park points out is a story run by CBS Evening News in January of 1984 in which CBS reported on Joe Newman and his Energy Machine. Joe Newman, a man from rural Mississippi, who did not have so much as a high school diploma, claimed that he had invented an Energy Machine that could "produce ten times the electrical energy it took to run it" (5). The CBS Evening News did not deny Newman's claim, nor did they take a skeptical look at his invention. Instead, they allowed Newman to announce to all of the viewers that he had created this incredible Energy Machine, and even had two other "experts" come on air to back up Newman's claims. CBS went as far as to describe Newman as "a brilliant self-educated inventor" (5). To Park, this is just one example of many in which the American media become the catalyst for voodoo science. Another interesting part of the book comes when Park explains his own "encounter" with a flying saucer. Driving through New Mexico one night, he was caught off guard by the image of his headlight reflecting off of a telephone wire, and believed, for an instant, that he was seeing an alien spacecraft moving along side him at the same speed as his automobile. Though he was already a skeptic and scientifically knowledgeable when this event occurred in his life, he was still able to be fooled, writing "My cerebral cortex may have sneered at stories of flying saucers, but the part of my brain in which these stories were stored had been activated by the powerful impression of the meteorite" (174). It is extraordinarily interesting that even a skeptic and a scientist like Park can still have his mind play tricks on him, and that he can imagine to see what he deems impossible because of the great effect that pseudoscience has on all of us. It just seems to be further evidence that all of our brains are so consumed by the junk science that the media so often perpetuate, and it is nearly impossible for anyone to avoid or escape. As he writes in Voodoo Science, "Whenever I become impatient with the UFO believers, as I often do, I try to remember that night in New Mexico when for a few seconds, I believed in flying saucers" (174). Park's narrative is a great book for anyone who would like an engaging read regarding junk science, its history, and the role the media play in its existence. It is written in the style of a series of vignettes, with each chapter's set all relating in some way to an overall topic; for instance, all of the vignettes in chapter one, "It's Not News It's Entertainment: In Which the Media Covers Voodoo Science", are classic stories in which the media perpetuated a story of pseudoscience. Park also uses each case of pseudoscience to lead into the next, comparing and contrasting the claims as he goes along, and weaves previous stories that he has talked about into later chapters, so that the book has a nice flow. All in all, Voodoo Science is a veritable crash course in the popular topics of pseudoscience, from Cold Fusion to UFO sightings. Park covers all of the topics intelligently and to the fullest extent. However, Park has not written the book for the scientific world, but for anyone with an interest in these topics and in learning the truth of certain subjects, saying in the preface, "I will, of course, be delighted if scientists read my book and find it entertaining, but it wasn't written for them" (ix). Thus, the book is insightful without being overwhelming, and Park's skeptical take is often surprisingly humorous as he points out the flaws of certain pseudoscience. For those who might be wary to pick up a book shelved in the "Science" section of the bookstore for a recreational read, they should be pleasantly surprised at the ease and entertainment value of Voodoo Science.

A Crash Course in Pseudoscience *****

In this day and age, with the media hardly taking the time to distinguish between what is fact and what is fiction, the line between pseudoscience and science can be hard for any one individual to determine on his own. In Robert Park's book, Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud, the author takes a look at certain junk sciences, especially those that have gotten a great deal of media attention, and points out their proponents' errors in thinking in order to help try to sort out the truth from the lies, the science from the pseudoscience. Park is a Professor of Physics at University of Maryland, as well as former chairman of the Department of Physics. He is also the director of the Washington Office of the American Physical Society. In his preface, Park writes, "As I sought to make the case for science, however, I kept bumping up against scientific ideas and claims that are totally, indisputably, extravagantly, wrong, but which nevertheless attract a large following of passionate, and sometimes powerful, proponents" (Park, viii). Throughout his book, Park takes a skeptical look at certain voodoo sciences of the last half-century, as well as their origins. His main thesis is that there is a great distinction between what is entertainment and what is news, what is science and what is junk, and the American news media need to start doing a better job of making these distinctions for themselves and for their audiences.
Park is extremely harsh on the American media and press, and rightly so, as he believes that they often promote pseudoscience by their coverage of certain stories. One such instance Park points out is a story run by CBS Evening News in January of 1984 in which CBS reported on Joe Newman and his Energy Machine. Joe Newman, a man from rural Mississippi, who did not have so much as a high school diploma, claimed that he had invented an Energy Machine that could "produce ten times the electrical energy it took to run it" (5). The CBS Evening News did not deny Newman's claim, nor did they take a skeptical look at his invention. Instead, they allowed Newman to announce to all of the viewers that he had created this incredible Energy Machine, and even had two other "experts" come on air to back up Newman's claims. CBS went as far as to describe Newman as "a brilliant self-educated inventor" (5). To Park, this is just one example of many in which the American media become the catalyst for voodoo science.
Another interesting part of the book comes when Park explains his own "encounter" with a flying saucer. Driving through New Mexico one night, he was caught off guard by the image of his headlight reflecting off of a telephone wire, and believed, for an instant, that he was seeing an alien spacecraft moving along side him at the same speed as his automobile. Though he was already a skeptic and scientifically knowledgeable when this event occurred in his life, he was still able to be fooled, writing "My cerebral cortex may have sneered at stories of flying saucers, but the part of my brain in which these stories were stored had been activated by the powerful impression of the meteorite" (174). It is extraordinarily interesting that even a skeptic and a scientist like Park can still have his mind play tricks on him, and that he can imagine to see what he deems impossible because of the great effect that pseudoscience has on all of us. It just seems to be further evidence that all of our brains are so consumed by the junk science that the media so often perpetuate, and it is nearly impossible for anyone to avoid or escape. As he writes in Voodoo Science, "Whenever I become impatient with the UFO believers, as I often do, I try to remember that night in New Mexico when for a few seconds, I believed in flying saucers" (174).
Park's narrative is a great book for anyone who would like an engaging read regarding junk science, its history, and the role the media play in its existence. It is written in the style of a series of vignettes, with each chapter's set all relating in some way to an overall topic; for instance, all of the vignettes in chapter one, "It's Not News It's Entertainment: In Which the Media Covers Voodoo Science", are classic stories in which the media perpetuated a story of pseudoscience. Park also uses each case of pseudoscience to lead into the next, comparing and contrasting the claims as he goes along, and weaves previous stories that he has talked about into later chapters, so that the book has a nice flow.
All in all, Voodoo Science is a veritable crash course in the popular topics of pseudoscience, from Cold Fusion to UFO sightings. Park covers all of the topics intelligently and to the fullest extent. However, Park has not written the book for the scientific world, but for anyone with an interest in these topics and in learning the truth of certain subjects, saying in the preface, "I will, of course, be delighted if scientists read my book and find it entertaining, but it wasn't written for them" (ix). Thus, the book is insightful without being overwhelming, and Park's skeptical take is often surprisingly humorous as he points out the flaws of certain pseudoscience. For those who might be wary to pick up a book shelved in the "Science" section of the bookstore for a recreational read, they should be pleasantly surprised at the ease and entertainment value of Voodoo Science.

Decent, ultimately disappointing **
I enjoyed much of this book; Park does a good job of taking on the pseudoscientific types who need to be exposed. His take on them is devastating, and with this I have no quarrel. But this is true only up to a point. He hurts his cause by his sneering attitude rather than by dispassionate dissection and he cites virtually no actual research to back his claims. But the worst part of the book is his attack on the manned space program. Here we have a man who is so fully of himself that he sees fit to pontificate in the manner of yet another pseudoscience, "Futurism." He blathers about why certain things in manned space flight can never be, pretending that his speculative statements are already proven fact. He has, after all, no more knowledge of what mankind's technological levels and abilities will be in 100 years than does anyone else. For him to speak as if he does is dishonest. In the end, I would recomment this book, but would caution the reader not to take as Gospel everything the man says.

Decent, ultimately disappointing **

I enjoyed much of this book; Park does a good job of taking on the pseudoscientific types who need to be exposed. His take on them is devastating, and with this I have no quarrel.

But this is true only up to a point. He hurts his cause by his sneering attitude rather than by dispassionate dissection and he cites virtually no actual research to back his claims.

But the worst part of the book is his attack on the manned space program. Here we have a man who is so fully of himself that he sees fit to pontificate in the manner of yet another pseudoscience, "Futurism." He blathers about why certain things in manned space flight can never be, pretending that his speculative statements are already proven fact. He has, after all, no more knowledge of what mankind's technological levels and abilities will be in 100 years than does anyone else. For him to speak as if he does is dishonest.

In the end, I would recomment this book, but would caution the reader not to take as Gospel everything the man says.

My favorite scientist *****
Bob Park is my favorite scientist. This no-nonsense book cuts through the crap and gives you the facts. You'll be able to explain why popular nonsense like "space travel" is a waste of money. While you're waiting for this wonderful, readable, funny, yet factual book to arrive, subscribe to Dr. Park's newsletter at http://www.bobpark.org/ It's the same thing, only up to date. Never lose another debate -- be a contratrian -- sound like a physics major -- amaze all your friends. It's all here.

My favorite scientist *****

Bob Park is my favorite scientist. This no-nonsense book cuts through the crap and gives you the facts. You'll be able to explain why popular nonsense like "space travel" is a waste of money.

While you're waiting for this wonderful, readable, funny, yet factual book to arrive, subscribe to Dr. Park's newsletter at http://www.bobpark.org/

It's the same thing, only up to date.

Never lose another debate -- be a contratrian -- sound like a physics major -- amaze all your friends. It's all here.

Concise, clear and ruthless *****
This is a wonderful book that seeks to dispel some myths of pseudoscience and also enables the reader to be more critical of the half-baked claims made by the peddlars of healing crystals and levitating quacks out there. Robert Park's credentials are impeccable and his approach is straight forward: the more outlandish the claim - the more the evidence must stand up to scrutiny. I have read many books by debunkers, by Michael Shermer and James Randi, and found this up there with the best of them. The message is best summarised thus: the majority of us are not physicists or chemists, however we owe it to ourselves to question claims that overturn the accepted laws of nature using our common sense. Sadly, for every one of these books, there's 1000 books on the supernatural, ESP and other nonsense.

Concise, clear and ruthless *****

This is a wonderful book that seeks to dispel some myths of pseudoscience and also enables the reader to be more critical of the half-baked claims made by the peddlars of healing crystals and levitating quacks out there. Robert Park's credentials are impeccable and his approach is straight forward: the more outlandish the claim - the more the evidence must stand up to scrutiny. I have read many books by debunkers, by Michael Shermer and James Randi, and found this up there with the best of them. The message is best summarised thus: the majority of us are not physicists or chemists, however we owe it to ourselves to question claims that overturn the accepted laws of nature using our common sense. Sadly, for every one of these books, there's 1000 books on the supernatural, ESP and other nonsense.

Blasting Balderdash, Baloney, and Bunkum! *****
The book clearly deserves more than five stars for its effective, level-headed exposure of unscientific ideas that don't hold water (like cold fusion, the Roswell incident as a UFO invasion, homeopathy, and perpetual motion machines). Science is now evolving more rapidly than ever before. Some estimate that the total level of scientific knowledge doubles every few years. If you are like me, you cannot hope to keep up. And politicians, television, friends, and news stories are always touting new and intriguing ideas. What really is going on? What should we pay attention to? Professor Park has a distinguished background in physics. He directs the Washington office of the American Physical Society, and is a former chairman of the Physics department at the University of Maryland. In his work with the society, he is often called upon by the press to comment about claims made by others. This experience allowed him to develop the information in this book. If you are like me, you also have heard of or read about many of the claims discussed in the book. But, like me, you probably never heard how it all ended up. Whatever happened to cold fusion, for example? The book looks at all kinds of badly done science, beginning with amateurs who don't know enough to understand what they are doing. Such amateurs often run the risk of becoming fraudulent if they fail to respond candidly to questions from scientists about their work. The good news is that society seems to be getting better at challenging the ideas that are wrong. For example, the Supreme Court decided a case, Daubert, that now requires federal judges to get independent scientists to look at claims before allowing a jury to consider a point of view espoused by some "paid" experts. Congress seems to be getting better about asking relevant questions, rather than just supporting any crackpot who shows up with a wild story about perpetual motion machines. In other cases of voodoo science, the people doing the work just haven't been cautious enough. For example, much of the ESP research done was flawed by a design that permitted those doing the research to throw out the results of any people they suspected of deliberately guessing wrong. As you can imagine, these probably included people who got mostly wrong answers! That certainly skewed the results. The worst offenders in perpetuating incorrect beliefs about science seem to be television (especially CBS and ABC) and top secret status for information about the government. Apparently, some people in the networks believe that crackpot ideas should be covered as "entertainment" rather than as "knowledge" or "science." So even if they know the story is probably wrong, the reporter often leaves the impression that there may be something to the claim. Shame on them! Government keeps things as top secret that would become top embarrassments if known. As a result, our confidence in the government is eroded. Some of the other areas uncovered in the book include Joe Newman's Energy Machine, Star Wars (SDI) technology advanced by Edward Teller, the International Space Station, a manned mission to Mars, silicon gel breast implants, vitamin O, meditation as a solution for violent crime, Dr. Deepak Chopra's invocation of quantum effects from the mind on matter, power lines as a source of disease, healing auras, and James Patterson's metal beads to generate energy. While I agreed with all of the comments the book made, there are places where other perspectives could change your mind on the issue. For example, manned space exploration is very expensive and dangerous. Essentially, everything can be done by robots faster, safer, and cheaper. Dr. Park concludes that it makes no sense to do such exploration. I disagree. I do agree that the objectives of the manned programs need to be much more intelligently formulated. I suspect that the main advantages from manned space flight will turn out to be in developing improved leadership, innovation, and management practices. If those rewards are great enough, and I think they could be, the expense may well be worth it. But our decision should be more informed and purposeful than it has been in the past about these areas. I hope that this wonderful book will also become available as an on-going television program, newsletter, or Web site. We need more information like this in order to be thoughtful citizens, consumers, and family members. After you have read this book, I suggest you think about some likely off-the-wall scientific claim you have heard. Then do some research to see whether that claim is likely to be valid or not, by reading what others already know about the subject. See if you can overcome some of these misconceptions on your own. I suspect that a good place to start would be with ideas for how to add to the energy supply of the United States. Have fun eliminating false beliefs, wherever you find them!

Blasting Balderdash, Baloney, and Bunkum! *****

The book clearly deserves more than five stars for its effective, level-headed exposure of unscientific ideas that don't hold water (like cold fusion, the Roswell incident as a UFO invasion, homeopathy, and perpetual motion machines).
Science is now evolving more rapidly than ever before. Some estimate that the total level of scientific knowledge doubles every few years. If you are like me, you cannot hope to keep up. And politicians, television, friends, and news stories are always touting new and intriguing ideas. What really is going on? What should we pay attention to?

Professor Park has a distinguished background in physics. He directs the Washington office of the American Physical Society, and is a former chairman of the Physics department at the University of Maryland. In his work with the society, he is often called upon by the press to comment about claims made by others. This experience allowed him to develop the information in this book.

If you are like me, you also have heard of or read about many of the claims discussed in the book. But, like me, you probably never heard how it all ended up. Whatever happened to cold fusion, for example?

The book looks at all kinds of badly done science, beginning with amateurs who don't know enough to understand what they are doing. Such amateurs often run the risk of becoming fraudulent if they fail to respond candidly to questions from scientists about their work.

The good news is that society seems to be getting better at challenging the ideas that are wrong. For example, the Supreme Court decided a case, Daubert, that now requires federal judges to get independent scientists to look at claims before allowing a jury to consider a point of view espoused by some "paid" experts. Congress seems to be getting better about asking relevant questions, rather than just supporting any crackpot who shows up with a wild story about perpetual motion machines.

In other cases of voodoo science, the people doing the work just haven't been cautious enough. For example, much of the ESP research done was flawed by a design that permitted those doing the research to throw out the results of any people they suspected of deliberately guessing wrong. As you can imagine, these probably included people who got mostly wrong answers! That certainly skewed the results.

The worst offenders in perpetuating incorrect beliefs about science seem to be television (especially CBS and ABC) and top secret status for information about the government. Apparently, some people in the networks believe that crackpot ideas should be covered as "entertainment" rather than as "knowledge" or "science." So even if they know the story is probably wrong, the reporter often leaves the impression that there may be something to the claim. Shame on them!

Government keeps things as top secret that would become top embarrassments if known. As a result, our confidence in the government is eroded.

Some of the other areas uncovered in the book include Joe Newman's Energy Machine, Star Wars (SDI) technology advanced by Edward Teller, the International Space Station, a manned mission to Mars, silicon gel breast implants, vitamin O, meditation as a solution for violent crime, Dr. Deepak Chopra's invocation of quantum effects from the mind on matter, power lines as a source of disease, healing auras, and James Patterson's metal beads to generate energy.

While I agreed with all of the comments the book made, there are places where other perspectives could change your mind on the issue. For example, manned space exploration is very expensive and dangerous. Essentially, everything can be done by robots faster, safer, and cheaper. Dr. Park concludes that it makes no sense to do such exploration. I disagree. I do agree that the objectives of the manned programs need to be much more intelligently formulated. I suspect that the main advantages from manned space flight will turn out to be in developing improved leadership, innovation, and management practices. If those rewards are great enough, and I think they could be, the expense may well be worth it. But our decision should be more informed and purposeful than it has been in the past about these areas.

I hope that this wonderful book will also become available as an on-going television program, newsletter, or Web site. We need more information like this in order to be thoughtful citizens, consumers, and family members.

After you have read this book, I suggest you think about some likely off-the-wall scientific claim you have heard. Then do some research to see whether that claim is likely to be valid or not, by reading what others already know about the subject. See if you can overcome some of these misconceptions on your own. I suspect that a good place to start would be with ideas for how to add to the energy supply of the United States.

Have fun eliminating false beliefs, wherever you find them!

you don't pretend too much rationality ***
Dr. Park I don’t doubt is a good scientist and well intentioned writer and so, plenty of logics, he shows us how flying saucers, perpetual motors, astrology, etc, are false. Summing up he show us how to elude the road from foolishness to fraud. The problem is if he can avoid we take the way from fraud to foolishness. We see: most of us aren’t no scientists or physicians. There are some popular magazines and films as this book, that can deceit oneself in thinking he has understood all science, but we truly don’t know nothing. Dr. Park does know, because he’s a professional. The author is as a great General: he can plan a scientific battle in the war cabinet, but the infantrymen under real fire carry an amulet with them and I doubt he can impede these with the best book an human mind can conceive. We can read about Surgery, but usually we don’ have smelt the odour of warm blood and we haven’t to explain the result to the family. The author makes a strong effort but he has not in count that in some sense we are still as primitive as Neanderthals. Furthermore, the best science never is complete. Perhaps I like to play poker or post at racehorses or football although I know these is a sure loss. I think all human people uses to practice, if not believe, in something non rational, possibly including Dr. Park. Voodoo science is a bad thing but we have sometimes to learn to live side by side with erroneous or bad things as these and for that I think this book is good but with a restricted utility.

you don't pretend too much rationality ***

Dr. Park I don’t doubt is a good scientist and well intentioned writer and so, plenty of logics, he shows us how flying saucers, perpetual motors, astrology, etc, are false. Summing up he show us how to elude the road from foolishness to fraud. The problem is if he can avoid we take the way from fraud to foolishness. We see: most of us aren’t no scientists or physicians. There are some popular magazines and films as this book, that can deceit oneself in thinking he has understood all science, but we truly don’t know nothing. Dr. Park does know, because he’s a professional. The author is as a great General: he can plan a scientific battle in the war cabinet, but the infantrymen under real fire carry an amulet with them and I doubt he can impede these with the best book an human mind can conceive. We can read about Surgery, but usually we don’ have smelt the odour of warm blood and we haven’t to explain the result to the family. The author makes a strong effort but he has not in count that in some sense we are still as primitive as Neanderthals. Furthermore, the best science never is complete. Perhaps I like to play poker or post at racehorses or football although I know these is a sure loss. I think all human people uses to practice, if not believe, in something non rational, possibly including Dr. Park. Voodoo science is a bad thing but we have sometimes to learn to live side by side with erroneous or bad things as these and for that I think this book is good but with a restricted utility.

Beware of bad science ****
In principle scientific method is all about objectively and critically testing theories and updating them in the light of new evidence. Park shows how scientists’ prejudices, being inclined to see only what they expect or want to see, can lead them down the road to pathological science (where they fool themselves) or worse junk science (where they deliberately try to fool others). He repeatedly shows examples of failures to abandon theories even in the face of apparently powerful refuting evidence, as well as how easy it is for people with insufficient scientific knowledge to be taken in by those theories. The book is an entertaining read, with stories about cold fusion, UFOs, ESP and many more. My only criticism is that I find Park’s style somewhat overly opinionated, perhaps not being objective enough himself. One obvious example, which is very much an open issue, is where he has: “The great global warming debate, then, is more an argument about values than it is about science.” I don’t find his arguments strong enough to make such a forward statement. Nevertheless the book is a very enjoyable journey through many types of unorthodox science, as well as providing a thought-provoking read for those interested in scientific method.

Beware of bad science ****

In principle scientific method is all about objectively and critically testing theories and updating them in the light of new evidence. Park shows how scientists’ prejudices, being inclined to see only what they expect or want to see, can lead them down the road to pathological science (where they fool themselves) or worse junk science (where they deliberately try to fool others). He repeatedly shows examples of failures to abandon theories even in the face of apparently powerful refuting evidence, as well as how easy it is for people with insufficient scientific knowledge to be taken in by those theories. The book is an entertaining read, with stories about cold fusion, UFOs, ESP and many more. My only criticism is that I find Park’s style somewhat overly opinionated, perhaps not being objective enough himself. One obvious example, which is very much an open issue, is where he has: “The great global warming debate, then, is more an argument about values than it is about science.” I don’t find his arguments strong enough to make such a forward statement. Nevertheless the book is a very enjoyable journey through many types of unorthodox science, as well as providing a thought-provoking read for those interested in scientific method.

Tightly written, engaging, fun ... and informative *****
Robert Park is a talented and smart writer who has crammed this book full of interesting facts and forceful counter-blasts against the endless "voodoo science" we are subjected to on a daily basis. One big revelation for me -- homeopathy is total hokum. I had no idea the various unique doses contain no ingredients, apart from the lactose pill or water (Park savages homeopathy in a chapter on the placebo effect). I also enjoyed his mention of how a schoolgirl invented a double-blind test that proved "touch therapy" was a load of cobblers (therapists put both hands through individual holes in a screen, while the girl would see if they could tell which hand she was holding hers under ... they got it right only 44% of the time, worse than not trying at all!). Get this book!

Tightly written, engaging, fun ... and informative *****

Robert Park is a talented and smart writer who has crammed this book full of interesting facts and forceful counter-blasts against the endless "voodoo science" we are subjected to on a daily basis. One big revelation for me -- homeopathy is total hokum. I had no idea the various unique doses contain no ingredients, apart from the lactose pill or water (Park savages homeopathy in a chapter on the placebo effect). I also enjoyed his mention of how a schoolgirl invented a double-blind test that proved "touch therapy" was a load of cobblers (therapists put both hands through individual holes in a screen, while the girl would see if they could tell which hand she was holding hers under ... they got it right only 44% of the time, worse than not trying at all!). Get this book!

fraud,silliness and junk science ****
This is an excellant book that covers illustrative topics of bad science such as homeopathy,cold fusion and perpetual motion machines. In a readable article like style, Park uses and explain clearly the scientific problems with these issues. He gives excellant descriptions about several pepetual motion machines by discussing thermodynamics and electrical dynamic theory that even a chemist as myself can enjoy. He tends to turn poltical at the end of the book wth a negative description of SDI amd Dr Teller. Science should not dabble in politics so the author's Democratic party bias should be excluded.If your politics lean toward the right this might detract from this book. The book could have covered either fraud,junk science or bad science only. By lumping all these things together it may not be clear where bad science ends and fraud appears. The book appears to have been written as smaller articles for publication and combined.

fraud,silliness and junk science ****

This is an excellant book that covers illustrative topics of bad science such as homeopathy,cold fusion and perpetual motion machines. In a readable article like style, Park uses and explain clearly the scientific problems with these issues. He gives excellant descriptions about several pepetual motion machines by discussing thermodynamics and electrical dynamic theory that even a chemist as myself can enjoy. He tends to turn poltical at the end of the book wth a negative description of SDI amd Dr Teller. Science should not dabble in politics so the author's Democratic party bias should be excluded.If your politics lean toward the right this might detract from this book. The book could have covered either fraud,junk science or bad science only. By lumping all these things together it may not be clear where bad science ends and fraud appears. The book appears to have been written as smaller articles for publication and combined.

Skepticism Without Smarm *****
I would say that VOODOO SCIENCE can rightly be called "Skepticism For Dummies." It debunks New Age thinking and pseudo-science without using the kind of technical jargon that sometimes alienates lay-people. While its contents will seem obvious to the scientifically informed, it's important to remember that those folks are NOT the intended audience. Mr. Park is clearly trying to do more than just preach to the converted, and I think VOODOO SCIENCE will definitely win some converts. Five stars.

Skepticism Without Smarm *****

I would say that VOODOO SCIENCE can rightly be called "Skepticism For Dummies." It debunks New Age thinking and pseudo-science without using the kind of technical jargon that sometimes alienates lay-people.

While its contents will seem obvious to the scientifically informed, it's important to remember that those folks are NOT the intended audience. Mr. Park is clearly trying to do more than just preach to the converted, and I think VOODOO SCIENCE will definitely win some converts. Five stars.

Science is not just for scientists ****
It's for everyone. It's for everyone who wants to understand what their taxes pay for, and for everyone who wants to know when the fear-mongers are howling nonsense (again). I really enjoy this book. It's based on understandable facts and it covers a number of specific cases. It's well written, without a lot of intimidating terms. Best, it gives the reader some specific signs that often indicate the phonies: barely-there statistics that never seem to get better, a peculiar mix of grandstanding and secrecy, and a tendency to ignore results that don't give the "right" answer. Most of all, the frauds seem uniform in demanding that they be judged as people, not that their science be judged in independent labs. Parks does an especially good job of describing the fools and frauds who attract attention in Congress. Somehow, we seem to have gone downhill at separating verifiable fact from wishes and pseudoscience. He mentions the man-to-Mars mission proposed by President Bush (the other mission proposed by the other Bush) - space opera, not science. He mentions only briefly confusion of personal values with verifiable fact - I can think of too many current cases that show the confusion is still there. Junk science in the service is junk morality is not new. I'm sure the reader will come away better able to recognize it in every day's headlines. This book shows that real scientific reasoning is accessible to everyone, using the delightful example of Emily Rosa. She clearly demonstrated absurd claims of "aura alignment", published 'solid gold' statistical analysis in the Journal of the AMA, and was awarded a research grant many times the cost of her original study. Not bad for a fourth grader. I wish more adults had that clarity of mind. I can't give this five stars, since it one good book among many other good books on the topic. That does not detract from this book in any way, but it has so much good company that it can't really stand out. It's a quick read, and very worthwhile.

Science is not just for scientists ****

It's for everyone. It's for everyone who wants to understand what their taxes pay for, and for everyone who wants to know when the fear-mongers are howling nonsense (again).

I really enjoy this book. It's based on understandable facts and it covers a number of specific cases. It's well written, without a lot of intimidating terms. Best, it gives the reader some specific signs that often indicate the phonies: barely-there statistics that never seem to get better, a peculiar mix of grandstanding and secrecy, and a tendency to ignore results that don't give the "right" answer. Most of all, the frauds seem uniform in demanding that they be judged as people, not that their science be judged in independent labs.

Parks does an especially good job of describing the fools and frauds who attract attention in Congress. Somehow, we seem to have gone downhill at separating verifiable fact from wishes and pseudoscience. He mentions the man-to-Mars mission proposed by President Bush (the other mission proposed by the other Bush) - space opera, not science. He mentions only briefly confusion of personal values with verifiable fact - I can think of too many current cases that show the confusion is still there. Junk science in the service is junk morality is not new. I'm sure the reader will come away better able to recognize it in every day's headlines.

This book shows that real scientific reasoning is accessible to everyone, using the delightful example of Emily Rosa. She clearly demonstrated absurd claims of "aura alignment", published 'solid gold' statistical analysis in the Journal of the AMA, and was awarded a research grant many times the cost of her original study. Not bad for a fourth grader. I wish more adults had that clarity of mind.

I can't give this five stars, since it one good book among many other good books on the topic. That does not detract from this book in any way, but it has so much good company that it can't really stand out. It's a quick read, and very worthwhile.

The Opium of the Masses, the Madness of the Few ****
There is now a bona fide genre of 'Sceptic' writings, which are probably familiar to people interested in Robert L. Park's "Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud". Along with the likes of Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer and James Randi, Park attacks pseudoscience and stresses the importance of rationality. "Voodoo Science" proves to be one of the better examples of this genre. Although it doesn't quite match Carl Sagan's brilliant "The Demon Haunted World", Park's book is noteworthy for three main reasons: The creative structure and fine prose, the choice of the targets, and the underlying theme of this book - how Voodoo Science is a journey from sincere errors through self delusion to outright fraud. Park's writing is elegant and easy to read. I've finished 'Voodoo Science' within two days, a tribute both to the shortness of the book and to Park's ability as a storyteller. Furthermore, Park explains science well; I particularly liked his explanation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics ("You can't win" and "You can't break even, either"). Unlike most of these kinds of book, Park chooses to tell stories throughout the book, and as a consequence gives the feeling of a plot unravelling. Park also manages to tell similar stories together, proving that while fools change, the foolishness remains the same. Park's choice of targets is also an advantage. Part of it is that Park's book is recent, and that many of the scandals are relatively new (the 80s and 90s, rather then the 60s and 70s as in many other such books). But it is more then that - Park picks on phenomena which reached bodies - US Congress, Prime Time US TV, and NASA - who should have known better. The best chapters in the book are the fourth and eight. "The Virtual Astronaut" attacks manned flights to space, and argues that they are huge vanity projects of little practical value. It is a forceful suggestion, and one that is actually quite bold - unlike UFOs, Astrology and Creationism, Space travel is dear to the hearts of many sceptics, myself included. Nonetheless, Park's case is convincing. As presently carried out, Manned Space Exploration is a waste of time and money, and as the recent disaster of the Columbia space shuttle has demonstrated, dangerous as well. I do wish that Park would discuss some ideas which might make manned space travel a more practical possibility, particularly the proposal for a space elevator - a satellite connected with a cable to earth, on which it would be possible to 'climb' to space. Chapter 8, "Judgement Day" discusses attempts by the US Jurisprudence to fight Junk Science - the use of science to bewilder and bedazzle laypersons, and especially juries. The US Supreme Court ruled that it is the Judge's role to be a gatekeeper, to distinguish for the Jury between real and fake science, using outside experts if necessary. I wish Park had elaborated on this issue more, presenting some of the obstacles to this (such as who is qualified to decide, in concrete cases and on a tight schedule, what is or isn't voodoo science), and the dissenting opinions of the Supreme Court. If Judges have to decide for the jury what science is or isn't, aren't we approaching the point where the judiciary dictates the trial's results? Does the Judge replace the "Jury of one's peers" as the agent who finds the defendant guilty or innocent? And if so, is it a good or bad thing? The main current of the book, its thesis, is an examination of the subtitle's "Road from Foolishness to Fraud". The how and when of inventors getting lost in their own hype, beginning to lie rather then admit they were wrong. This is an interesting theme which Park could have followed more closely with an inside look at people on that road. Alas, no such a description is given. I would have been particularly interested in an interview with Michael Guillen, the book's anti-hero, a physicist who "documents" all forms of paranormal folly for prime time TV. An anthropologist's inside view on the scandal would have greatly added to Park's book. Such minor flaws not withstanding, Robert L. Park wrote an interesting and fun to read debunking book. If you like the genre, you'll love it. If you're a believer, try reading it with an open mind - it may do you some good.

The Opium of the Masses, the Madness of the Few ****

There is now a bona fide genre of 'Sceptic' writings, which are probably familiar to people interested in Robert L. Park's "Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud". Along with the likes of Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer and James Randi, Park attacks pseudoscience and stresses the importance of rationality.

"Voodoo Science" proves to be one of the better examples of this genre. Although it doesn't quite match Carl Sagan's brilliant "The Demon Haunted World", Park's book is noteworthy for three main reasons: The creative structure and fine prose, the choice of the targets, and the underlying theme of this book - how Voodoo Science is a journey from sincere errors through self delusion to outright fraud.

Park's writing is elegant and easy to read. I've finished 'Voodoo Science' within two days, a tribute both to the shortness of the book and to Park's ability as a storyteller. Furthermore, Park explains science well; I particularly liked his explanation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics ("You can't win" and "You can't break even, either"). Unlike most of these kinds of book, Park chooses to tell stories throughout the book, and as a consequence gives the feeling of a plot unravelling. Park also manages to tell similar stories together, proving that while fools change, the foolishness remains the same.

Park's choice of targets is also an advantage. Part of it is that Park's book is recent, and that many of the scandals are relatively new (the 80s and 90s, rather then the 60s and 70s as in many other such books). But it is more then that - Park picks on phenomena which reached bodies - US Congress, Prime Time US TV, and NASA - who should have known better.

The best chapters in the book are the fourth and eight. "The Virtual Astronaut" attacks manned flights to space, and argues that they are huge vanity projects of little practical value. It is a forceful suggestion, and one that is actually quite bold - unlike UFOs, Astrology and Creationism, Space travel is dear to the hearts of many sceptics, myself included. Nonetheless, Park's case is convincing. As presently carried out, Manned Space Exploration is a waste of time and money, and as the recent disaster of the Columbia space shuttle has demonstrated, dangerous as well.

I do wish that Park would discuss some ideas which might make manned space travel a more practical possibility, particularly the proposal for a space elevator - a satellite connected with a cable to earth, on which it would be possible to 'climb' to space.

Chapter 8, "Judgement Day" discusses attempts by the US Jurisprudence to fight Junk Science - the use of science to bewilder and bedazzle laypersons, and especially juries. The US Supreme Court ruled that it is the Judge's role to be a gatekeeper, to distinguish for the Jury between real and fake science, using outside experts if necessary. I wish Park had elaborated on this issue more, presenting some of the obstacles to this (such as who is qualified to decide, in concrete cases and on a tight schedule, what is or isn't voodoo science), and the dissenting opinions of the Supreme Court. If Judges have to decide for the jury what science is or isn't, aren't we approaching the point where the judiciary dictates the trial's results? Does the Judge replace the "Jury of one's peers" as the agent who finds the defendant guilty or innocent? And if so, is it a good or bad thing?

The main current of the book, its thesis, is an examination of the subtitle's "Road from Foolishness to Fraud". The how and when of inventors getting lost in their own hype, beginning to lie rather then admit they were wrong. This is an interesting theme which Park could have followed more closely with an inside look at people on that road. Alas, no such a description is given. I would have been particularly interested in an interview with Michael Guillen, the book's anti-hero, a physicist who "documents" all forms of paranormal folly for prime time TV. An anthropologist's inside view on the scandal would have greatly added to Park's book.

Such minor flaws not withstanding, Robert L. Park wrote an interesting and fun to read debunking book. If you like the genre, you'll love it. If you're a believer, try reading it with an open mind - it may do you some good.